How to Fill Out and Submit California Form FTB 3500A: Filing and Fees

California Form FTB 3500A is the short, one-page application a nonprofit uses to obtain state tax-exempt status when it already holds a federal determination letter from the IRS under one of six specific Internal Revenue Code sections. You mail the signed form with a copy of that federal letter to the Franchise Tax Board’s Exempt Organizations Unit in Rancho Cordova. There is no filing fee, and once the FTB acknowledges the exemption, it is retroactive to the federal effective date shown on your IRS letter, so the $800 minimum franchise tax does not apply for any year covered by that exemption.

Who Can Use Form 3500A

Form 3500A is only open to organizations whose IRS determination letter grants exemption under one of these six sections: 501(c)(3) for charitable, educational, and religious organizations; 501(c)(4) for social welfare groups and civic leagues; 501(c)(5) for agricultural, horticultural, and labor organizations; 501(c)(6) for business leagues and chambers of commerce; 501(c)(7) for social clubs; and 501(c)(19) for veterans’ organizations.¹ Those six federal categories correspond to California Revenue and Taxation Code sections 23701a, 23701d, 23701e, 23701f, 23701g, and 23701w.²

If your organization holds any other type of federal exemption, or has no federal determination letter at all, you cannot use Form 3500A and must file the longer Form 3500 instead. The same is true if the FTB previously revoked your California tax-exempt status. Line 1 of the form asks this directly, and a “yes” answer means you stop and switch to Form 3500.³ Homeowners’ associations, political organizations, and cemetery companies are common examples of entities that have to take the full-application route.

What to Gather Before You Start

Pull these items together first. The form itself is short, but almost every line references a document or number you’ll want on hand.

Your federal determination letter from the IRS. You’ll enclose a copy with the form. If you’ve lost it, you can request a replacement from the IRS or confirm your status through the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool.⁴
Your Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), the nine-digit number the IRS assigned to the organization.³
Your California corporation number or Secretary of State file number. For corporations, this is a seven-digit number preceded by “C.” For LLCs and limited partnerships, it is a 12-digit number with no letter prefix. You can look it up on the Secretary of State’s business search.⁵
Gross receipts for the current year and the three preceding taxable years. If your organization has existed less than a year, provide a projected amount for the full year.³
The legal name of the organization exactly as it appears on its articles of incorporation, articles of organization, or trust instrument.

How to Fill Out the Form

The form has three parts on a single page.

Part I: Entity Information

If someone other than an officer is handling the filing, enter the representative’s name and contact details at the top. Line 1 asks whether the FTB previously revoked the entity’s tax-exempt status; a yes stops the process and sends you to Form 3500. Line 2 asks whether the entity is a trust. Line 3 asks the date the organization was established, incorporated, or began conducting business in California, in month/day/year format.³

Below those questions, enter the California corporation number or Secretary of State file number, the FEIN, the legal name as shown on the creating document, the organization’s web address, street address, and phone number. Match the legal name precisely. A mismatch between the name on the form and the name on your federal determination letter is a common clerical issue that slows review.

Part II: Group Exemption and Gross Receipts

Line 4 is where you report gross receipts. Gross receipts means total amounts received from all sources during the accounting period, without subtracting costs or expenses. Line 5 asks whether a parent organization is applying for a group exemption, and Line 6 asks whether a subordinate is applying using a parent’s IRS group determination letter. Most standalone organizations will answer no to both.³

Part III: Purpose and Activity

Check the box for the IRC section that matches your federal determination letter, then check every activity box that describes what your organization actually does. A 501(c)(3) charity will choose among options like Charitable, Educational, Religious, Scientific, Hospital, or School. A 501(c)(6) business league will choose from Board of Trade, Chamber of Commerce, Professional Association, and similar options.³

At the bottom, an officer, director, trustee, or authorized representative signs under penalty of perjury that the form and attached letter are true and complete. If a representative is signing instead of an officer, attach a valid FTB 3520-BE (Business Entity Power of Attorney) or FTB 3520-PIT (Individual or Fiduciary Power of Attorney).¹

Group Exemptions for Subordinate Organizations

If a parent organization wants California tax-exempt status for its subordinate units, there are two paths. The parent can apply for a group exemption by answering yes on Line 5 and attaching the federal group determination letter along with a list of all California subordinates. That list must include each subordinate’s name, California corporation number, FEIN, address, and affiliation date.³

Alternatively, individual subordinates can each file their own Form 3500A. A subordinate filing separately must include a copy of the parent’s IRS group ruling letter (or an IRS letter confirming the subordinate is covered under the group exemption) and a letter on the parent organization’s letterhead confirming the subordinate relationship.¹ This is the path California law contemplates under Revenue and Taxation Code Section 23701(b)(1)(B).²

Where to Mail It and What It Costs

Form 3500A cannot be filed electronically. Mail the signed form and a copy of your federal determination letter to:¹

Exempt Organizations Unit MS F120
Franchise Tax Board
PO Box 1286
Rancho Cordova, CA 95741-1286

There is no filing fee. The $25 application fee that once applied to Form 3500 was eliminated for applications filed on or after January 1, 2021, so neither exemption form currently carries a cost.⁶

What Happens After You File

The FTB reviews the submission and sends an acknowledgement letter confirming that your organization is recognized as tax-exempt for California franchise and income tax purposes. Your California exemption is effective starting on the federal exempt effective date shown in your IRS determination letter, not the date you mail the form or the date the FTB issues its letter.¹ Keep the acknowledgement letter with your permanent legal and financial records. If the FTB finds discrepancies or missing documentation, expect a letter requesting additional information rather than an outright denial.

Keeping the Exemption After Approval

Approval does not end your paperwork. Most exempt organizations must file either Form 199 (California Exempt Organization Annual Information Return) or FTB 199N (the California e-Postcard) each year, depending on gross receipts:⁷

Gross receipts of $50,000 or less: file FTB 199N.
Gross receipts over $50,000: file the full Form 199.

Churches, religious orders, political organizations, and subordinates included in a parent’s group return are among the entities exempt from this filing requirement.⁷ The return is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after the end of your tax year (May 15 for calendar-year filers), with an automatic six-month extension available as long as the organization is not suspended on the original due date.

Charitable organizations also have a separate obligation to the California Attorney General. Nonprofit public benefit corporations, unincorporated associations, and trustees holding charitable assets must register with the Registry of Charitable Trusts and file Form RRF-1 annually, regardless of whether they file an IRS Form 990.⁸

Your California exemption rides on your federal exemption. If the IRS revokes the federal determination, the California exemption falls with it. The most common cause of federal revocation is failing to file annual returns for three consecutive years; the IRS automatically revokes exemption when that happens, effective on the due date of the third missed return.⁹ At the federal level, organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less can satisfy the annual return requirement by filing the Form 990-N e-Postcard; organizations above that threshold must file Form 990-EZ or the full Form 990.¹⁰ Churches and their integrated auxiliaries are not required to file and are not subject to automatic revocation for non-filing.

If your federal status is revoked, you cannot restore California exemption through Form 3500A later; the form is closed to organizations with a prior California revocation, and losing federal status forces you back through the full Form 3500 process.³ You can check whether your organization’s federal status is still active using the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search, which includes an automatic revocation list.⁴

1
Franchise Tax Board. 2025 Instructions for Form FTB 3500A Submission of Exemption Request
2
California Legislative Information. California Code Revenue and Taxation Code RTC 23701
3
Franchise Tax Board. Submission of Exemption Request – FTB 3500A
4
Internal Revenue Service. Tax Exempt Organization Search
5
California Secretary of State. Business Search – Frequently Asked Questions
6
Franchise Tax Board. Tax-Exempt Organization Application Fee and Filing Fees Eliminated
7
Franchise Tax Board. Annual and Filing Requirements Charities and Nonprofits
8
California Department of Justice. Annual Registration Renewal
9
Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation of Exemption for Non-Filing Frequently Asked Questions
10
Internal Revenue Service. Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations – Form 990-N (e-Postcard)